Condragulations, You're Married! - A Rainbow-Wedding-Drag-Queen Styled Shoot in Celebration of Pride! - Manchester Wedding Photography
“We chase the melodies that seem to find us
Until they’re finished songs and start to play
When senseless acts of tragedy remind us
That nothing here is promised, not one day.
This show is proof that history remembers
We lived through times when hate and fear seemed stronger;
We rise and fall and light from dying embers, remembrances that hope and love last longer
And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside.
Now fill the world with music, love and pride.”
Once upon a time, and still a little bit now (probably more so than I care to admit), I was considered to be alot. Too much, too loud, too bold, too outspoken - I was (and am) too emotional, too careless but then too cautious and too sensitive. The muchness of me was overwhelming sometimes to other people but most often to myself. As a very young child, I was so so fortunate to have been born to parents with quite a bit of ‘muchness’ themselves - who reined me in when it was necessary but found positive outlets for this excess energy in the form of performance and art and the myriad imaginative worlds that I would invent to fill the days and entertain my sisters. I was Jo March but also Amy (usually more Amy than Jo) and I was Anne Shirley and Caddie Woodlawn and Harriet M. Welsch and Punky Brewster and Rainbow Brite. My own mother is an artist herself and advocated for my muchness, understood that I could settle quite quickly with a book or a script then later with a brush, a lump of clay and still later, a camera. We got through it relatively unscathed and the irony is not lost on me that I’m now raising my own tiny Queen of Muchness - albeit one who thankfully has her dad’s brevity and ability to moderate both volume and tone. She is a master at reading the room, something I suspect I’ll struggle with forever.
My elbows and knees and my big loud laugh took up too much of the wrong kind of space in the confines of a classroom but when I stepped (leapt, dove, cannonballed) into the bright and beautiful world of the theatre, the pieces came together and I felt SEEN and understood and held and valued. The theatre was FILLED with all of the glorious muchness! The theatre was for feeling all of those delicious feelings, collaborating with a dynamic, creative, dedicated and MOTIVATED team to produce something just a teeny bit magical. And the humans themselves veritably sparkled under those spotlights.
Alright. So what does this have to do with weddings or photography - or specifically wedding photography which is what this blog is for KATE!!??
My point is that, like theatre, weddings are collaborative - they are artistry in practice and with purpose. Weddings from the viewpoint of the suppliers are a team of individuals, working at the top of their game to create an extraordinary vision (YOUR vision!) with ALL the moving parts and bells and whistles and flowers and magicians and cakes and tulle and I’m there to capture every beautiful moment of it. When it comes to my job, my muchness is FINALLY a help rather than a hindrance and it’s been the most satisfying journey to land here.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve somehow managed to join forces with an incredible group of truly exceptional collaborators. Whilst we often are working on the same weddings, we also seek each other out a couple of times a year and put together a styled wedding shoot - we stretch our legs creatively, we all trust each other implicitly and what we’ve managed to come up with over the years has filled that theatre-kid gap in my soul. But I don’t need to tell you that those shoots, though beautiful and special and unique, all have one clear similarity: they all present only one version of what a wedding can look like.
With Pride month on the horizon, I knew I wanted to create a shoot that celebrated, above all, JOY and LOVE. I wanted drama and theatre and COLOUR and glitter and, after spending a significant portion of lockdown binging RuPaul’s Drag Race, I wanted DRAG!!!! I’ve always been a vocal allyof the LQBTQIA+ community and outspoken activist for human rights but up until recently, my work hasn’t completely reflected my values. I’ve been wary of tokenism, of performative allyship but to be honest, I didn’t want to do this shoot for any motivation other than to celebrate the incredible talents and artistry of our models and the team of amazing women who put this WONDERFUL shoot together. After a year and a bit of waiting and locking down and the start and stop and holding my breath to contain that muchness, our day in the flower shop felt like the most beautiful confetti-popping release.
Ladies and gentleman and humans of this world, I share with you the (big fat fake) wedding of Shaun & Paul, officiated by Manchester’s own LEGEND Miss Verry Cherry. Take in the muchness, celebrate your own, the world is opening up again and I for one can’t bloody wait.
Happy Pride, with love from my favourite dream team:
Stylist - Kate Bader of Florence & Vera Events https://www.florenceandvera.co.uk/
Florals & Venue - Ali at Diddibox Flowers https://www.diddibox.co.uk/
Hair (Shaun & Paul) - Nina Fish https://www.instagram.com/hairbynin4/
Makeup (Shaun & Paul) - Lauren Poole https://www.makeupbylaurenpoole.com/
Stationary - Jellypress https://jellypress.co.uk/
Cake - Bibble Bakes https://www.facebook.com/Bibblebakes/
Crockery - White House Crockery https://www.eventcrockeryhire.co.uk/
Neon & Installations - Love Lights the Way https://www.lovelightstheway.co.uk/
Suits - Boohoo Man https://www.boohooman.com/
Drag Queen Officiant - Verry Cherry https://www.instagram.com/missverrycherry/
